St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-01-20


on the house more than they received ;
a part of this sum being in house
furnishings, such as crOckery, bedding,
etc. This $4,000 added to the note for
81, 900 and interest, Qess the appraisal
of furniture ZOO makes up the
bulk of the Observation-Disclosures -$1I,-
227.
When the security was looked for
which the signers of the note supposed
they had, it could not be found. Talk
ing had so deprecated the property
that instead of selling it for $3l 900
as was offered within the year, it had
to go on the first mortgage. The only
other security for the IL signers was
the furniture, etc. This inventOried
to Be,lell at $4,000. When the house
was leased to the present proprietor it
inventoried at $1,000. This would
seem to be a large shrinkage, especial
y when the money the syndicate put
into the.house is taken into account /;
but it is charged that Bedell skinned
the house before he emigrated to New
Hampshire. And it may be well to
add that the same appraisers were not
engaged on both occasions. But after
all explanations are heard it will prob
ably be admitted that one appraisal or
the other was not far from wrong.
This i'm brief is the story. Some sur
prise may be expressed at several
things, but there is no conundrum so
hard connected with this whole affair
but some one is ready to solve it. 1t
is easy enough now to see that the IL
men who signed the note were all and
severally fools not to first know that
they had security. But men have done
Just so before them. 1t is now plain
enough that the terms of the note
should have been insisted on, with a
small payment every month !; but what
is the business of IL men is rarely done
by any one of them and it so proved in
this case. People now say that Bedell
should have been made to sell when
he was offered $3l 900; and no one
rises to deny the assertion. Another
one gets up on his hind legs and
says, 81 told you so! No man can
keep a hotel without he sells rum.
While your syndicate was sinking
$500 month keeping a temperance
house, the Avenue house, no better
kept, was coming money right along.
tell you these city drummers (Which
constitute the bulk of hotel custom)
wont patrOnize hotel where they
can't have whisky and women" But
this theory, however plausible and
true as rule, is knocked higher than
Gilroy's kite by one of these same
drummers who, when told that the
committee were keeping temperance
house, offered to bet any amount of
money that he could get all the liquor
he wanted at the temperance" st.
Johnsbury house, and the man who
said he couldn't must either "put up
or shut up" Then by way of a clinch-
er he said he knew GALL the hotels on
the line of the road between Concord
and Newport and A. G.. TOlman keeps
the best bar at the ST. Johnsbury house
there is on the entire line, and | know
it, And the worst feature of all this
offensive buster is that it was prob
ably true.
Shorn of all theory, sentiment and
brag, these bald facts remain: Seven
teen citizens on solicitation, with the
best intentions and without expecta-
ton or hope of pecuniary reward, sign
ed an obligation of $4,000 to help an
entire stranger to give the town a
clean and decent hotel. The man
proved nobody if not a scamp. The
men whom he had wronged had rea-
sonable hope to save portion at least
of their investment by selling the
house. Immediately every rumsellel
who had ever kept hotel either here
or within so miles of this place, ano
every patron of their several bars, be-
gan with one accord to decry the st
Johnsbury house property. This ma
liciOus interference made it impossible
to sell the house. Added to this, til,
house was kept by "a party who in les
than nine months run through $4,000
in addition to the receipts of the house
With these facts, not to mention thu
inventory and many other minO
things, is it any wonder that the sign
ers of the note have "tired" feelin.
come over them when they think o
the St. Johnsbury houseq And ye
the most of them have already pait
their assessment and no doubt will
sign the next paper that is presented
Such is lifei
lwNY